Dorothy Garlock (41 page)

“I hope they will find a place where they can be happy.” “Doc is confident they will.”

April and Joe spent the day being totally absorbed with each other. They sat on the couch, his arm around her, her head on his shoulder, and talked of everything that had taken place in their lives up to now. She told him about her father leaving her and her mother stranded in St. Louis and how they’d had to go home to her grandparents in Independence.

“He came to see us from time to time. It didn’t bother him that my grandparents were supporting his family. Each time he left, my mother died a little, until there seemed to be nothing remaining for her. She went to bed one night and never got up. I’ve hated him ever since.”

“Have you seen him since you grew up?”

“Once. Right after Grandmother died. He came to the house and thought he would move in and I’d take care of him. I told him that I had not had a father for twenty years and didn’t want one now. He left, and I’ve not heard from him since and don’t want to ever hear from him again.”

Joe told her about his mother’s dying when he was fourteen and how Julie had stepped in to take care of her brothers and sister. He told her that Ron Poole, Shirley’s husband, had attempted to rape Jill and how Thad had fought with him.

“The poor girl!”

“Thad tackled him, and he was just a skinny kid himself. They rolled over near Thad’s horse. When Ron tried to stab Thad with a knife, he stuck it in the horse instead. The horse kicked him. Ron lived long enough for us to get him home. Pa wouldn’t have him in the house, and he died in the barn.”

He was about to tell her something else because he wanted there to be no secrets between them when they heard footsteps on the porch, then a heavy knock on the door.

Joe groaned and grabbed April for a quick kiss before he let her leave his arms to open the door.

Fred stood there. His hat was set square on his head. He held a flat tin box clutched to his chest.

“Hello, Fred.”

He jerked off his hat. “Miss Asbury. Ah ...I... wondered if you would spare me some time.” His eyes went past her when Joe came to stand behind her and put a possessive hand on her shoulder.

“Hello, Fred.”

“Joe.” Fred didn’t show any surprise at finding him there. “I really do need to talk to someone ...and ...ah...I’m glad you’re here, Joe. This concerns your family among others.” He was clearly in an agitated state. His hands shook, his eyes darted from Joe to April.

“Come in, Fred.” April held open the door.

“Thank you.”

“How are things going, Fred?” Joe asked in an attempt to put him at ease. “I see you’re making a few changes at the store. Took off that ragged awning for one thing. It helped the looks of the building.”

“Shirley would never let me take it off because Ron had put it there.”

“I heard that the store and house are yours now.” “Shirley made out a will the first year I was here, leaving the house and the store to me. I was surprised. I think she had forgotten about it.” He stood holding his hat and the flat tin box. “I have something here you should see.”

“Come into the kitchen and I’ll get us some tea.”

Fred hung his hat on the hall tree and followed April. He placed the tin box carefully on the table and sat down. Wearily he rubbed his face with his hand.

“I have wrestled with what I found in this box for two days. I don’t know what to do about it, but something must be done. It affects too many lives.”

“What is it?” Joe felt cold fingers on his spine. He feared it would have something to do with Julie and Joy. He sat down and reached for April’s hand. She moved close to him, instinctively knowing that he needed her.

“First, let me tell you that we found the box about six years ago. It was behind a stack of shelves that we pulled out because the roof was leaking. Shirley took it, and I never gave it another thought. I found it again when I went through her dresser drawers looking for things to bury her in. I didn’t get around to opening it until a couple of nights ago.”

Fred lifted the lid on the box and let it fall back on the table. On the top of what looked like Kodak pictures and mementos was a small notebook. He took it out and handed it to Joe.

“It seems that my brother-in-law kept a record of his shameful activities. Your sister’s name is there. I had planned to ask Miss Asbury’s advice on how I should let your family know about this.”

Joe took the book and began to read. A muscle ticked in his jaw when he read:

Julie Jones—July 1917—girl March 1918 named Joy.
Below was written,
I couldn’t have picked a better name myself.

Joe cursed silently, remembering the day Julie, alone in the barn, gave birth to Joy. He forced himself to continue reading and was surprised by the number of names he recognized. In the back of the book he found a list of eleven children who lived in and around Fertile. Another list matched the boys and girls according to their ages.

“Mrs. Poole wrote this?” he asked.

Fred nodded. “Now that I look back, she was never the same after she found this box. She became increasingly bitter and harder and harder to live with. I think she hated all women.” Fred lowered his eyes to the table. “Women seldom came to the house and never to visit.”

“It wasn’t the women’s fault that her husband was a sick pervert,” April said staunchly.

“She rented to Miss Asbury because I insisted. I thought it would be good for her to have a young person around. But it just made her more hateful.”

Joe looked at the Kodak pictures and picked out one of Joy when she was about four years old, coming out of the church with Julie.

“I wonder how he got this picture. Good Lord.” He picked up a picture of a young woman sitting on a step and flipped it over and read, “ ‘Ardyth Jenkins pregnant with my kid.’ I knew Ardyth. When she was about fifteen, she drowned in the river. Everyone thought it an accident.”

“He raped Sammy Davidson’s mother a few months before your sister.” April was scanning the pages of the notebook. “It seems that Mrs. Poole’s plan was to try and make a match between her husband’s children. She had Joy down here with Sammy Davidson. Richard Myers with the Bradbury girl.”

April looked up at Fred. “Oh, my. She planned to get revenge by having the children each mate with their own brother or sister. But why take her hurt out on the children?”

“I don’t think she was in her right mind,” he said tiredly. “I was there when the bastard died.” Joe stared at the picture of Joy. “He died after he tried to rape Jill, who was about fifteen at the time. If Thad’s horse hadn’t stomped him, my pa would have killed him on the spot. As he was dying, he bragged about all the offspring he was leaving behind. I remember him saying that there were eighteen of them. He had the guts to ask to see Joy. He wanted her at his funeral. Pa said he’d see him in hell first.”

Joe continued. “Julie didn’t know who had raped her. He was always careful to blindfold his victims. No one knew what had happened to her but me and Pa and Jack, but we never talked about it. My mother was bedfast,” he explained to April. “She died shortly after Joy was born and everyone assumed she died in childbirth.”

“Poor Julie,” April said. “All this time she’s had to pretend that Joy was her sister and not her child. That must have been hard.”

“Knowing Julie, I’m sure she told Evan before they were married.” Joe picked up a picture of a barefoot boy and recognized Sammy. “Mrs. Poole was throwing Joy and Sammy together. Joy will be shocked to find out that he’s as much her brother as Logan is.”

“What a mess.” Fred shook his head. “It’s a relief to me to have someone else know about this. I just didn’t know what to do.”

Joe said, “Corbin and Doc were there when Ron died; and we all agreed that Mrs. Poole shouldn’t have to suffer for what her husband had done, so we kept it quiet. The story that was put out was that his horse spooked, he was thrown and the frightened horse stomped him.”

“The parents of these children should know the rapist was Poole. Then it will be up to them to tell the children if they choose.” April’s calm voice filled the silence. “What if Joy and Sammy had grown up and fallen in love with each other, got married and later discovered they were brother and sister? It would have destroyed them.”

Joe looked steadily at Fred. The man had risen in his estimation. He could have taken this information and spread it all over town, yet he was here, exposing his sister’s sick plan with the hope of fixing it.

“You should take this to Evan, Fred. He’ll know how to tell Julie, and they can decide how to handle the rest of it.”

Fred sighed. “I think you’re right.”

“If you want me to go out and bring Evan into town, I will. I’ll think of some excuse.”

“I would like to get this out of my hands.” Fred went to the hall rack for his hat.

April and Joe went with him to the door. Joe’s arm was around her.

“April and I are getting married,” Joe said bluntly.

“I thought that was the way the wind blew. You’re a lucky man.” Fred smiled for the first time since he came into the house.

“I think so. Come back in a couple of hours, Fred. I’ll have Evan here. He may want to bring Julie, and he may not. It’ll be up to him.”

Later that afternoon Evan and Julie met with Fred. She told him how grateful she was that he came forward with the information about Ron Poole’s offspring. She was shocked to read the list of names and realized she knew many of the children. What if two of them had married not knowing their relationship?

A heavy load would be lifted from her heart when she explained to Joy the circumstances of her birth. Not since before that terrible day when she was sixteen years old had Julie felt so happy. She had a wonderful, understanding husband and three beautiful children.

She could now put the past behind her.

Epilogue

June 1935

Dear April and Joe,

I take pen in hand to let you know that Caroline and I are settled here in Lahaina on the island of Maui. My friend has welcomed me into his practice, and Caroline and I are the proud parents of a son. Caroline has become acquainted with some of the native women. She loves it here and spends many hours going barefoot on the beach, collecting seashells and teaching her native friends to crochet. The sight of ships coming into the harbor never ceases to amaze her. We are happier than we ever believed possible. Write and tell us the news. I suppose you two finally figured out that you were in love.

Doc

August 1935

Dear Doc and Caroline,

Joe and I received your welcome letter. We are glad that you have found a place where you can live together as man and wife. Congratulations on becoming parents! This will probably not be much of a surprise to you, but Joe and I, Ruby and Jack were married in a double ceremony. Julie and Eudora wanted to have the wedding at the farm and we agreed.

Jack has gone back to work as Fertile’s law enforcer. He and Ruby live upstairs in Mrs. Poole’s house. I have a job now as a county nurse and we still live in your house. Joe and I have not decided if we will continue to live here or out on his farm.

Rolling Thunder has proved to be a good investment for Joe. He is gradually building up a good head of cattle.

When Fred was going through his sister’s belongings, he found Ron Poole’s record book. It listed all of his children and the names of the women he had raped. Fred gave the book to Julie and Evan. Julie explained the circumstances of her birth to Joy, and Joy showed more maturity than we expected. They left it up to her to tell Sammy. She did and both seem pleased to know they are half-brother and sister.

Marla Davidson ran off and left Sammy in the house on the river. Joe found the boy there alone, and now he’s working and living with Jethro and Eudora at the farm. Jethro says he has taken to farming and is a good worker. Eudora now has him under her wing, and he adores her. All in all, things seem to have worked out fine for all of them.

Fred and Joe have become friends. Fred is a changed man now that he’s out from under the thumb of his sister. He’s keeping company with Sarah Parker, and it appears to be serious.

Hattie Davenport got her comeuppance. Sarah and I spread word that you left town because of her pursuit. She lost most of her social standing in town after that.

Let us hear from you. You are missed here in Fertile. People keep asking if we’ve heard from you.

The postmaster tells us that this letter will probably reach you before Christmastime. We wish you a joyous Christmas and a Happy New Year.

From your friends in Fertile,

April and Joe